


We danced the night away

by Amanda312



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, It ends happy I promise, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, a bit of cartinelli and peggy/daniel if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-20
Updated: 2017-01-20
Packaged: 2018-09-18 17:35:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9395936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amanda312/pseuds/Amanda312
Summary: "As a kid, Peggy always wondered what it was like to lose your soulmate. It’s weird, yes, all her friends wanted to talk about the moment they’d meet their meant-to-be, see the countdown on their arms reach zero. Still, everyone knew hundreds of stories about that part. (...) But nobody tells children about how it is to let go of your twin soul."Peggy Carter's thoughts on soulmates and their losses, and how Steve Rogers touches her life when he is there and when he isn't.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by my friend’s prompt, soulmate au + "i'm not losing you again!". And it’s as cliché as they come. You’ve been warned.

As a kid, Peggy always wondered what it was like to lose your soulmate. It’s weird, yes, all her friends wanted to talk about the moment they’d meet their meant-to-be, see the countdown on their arms reach zero. Still, everyone knew hundreds of stories about that part. You hear it from your parents, your grandparents, some overjoyed stranger who just went through it, your own friends lucky enough to have already found that person. But nobody tells children about how it is to let go of your twin soul. 

She had seen it sometimes, usually in the arms of an old person, a scar instead of the numbers. She would ask others about it and there were a few common answers. ‘Oh, that’s what happens when your soulmate dies. Yeah, even if you haven’t met them yet.’ and ‘It’s kind of like removing a tattoo, you know? But your body will do it on it’s own.’ And ‘I don’t know how long it takes but yes, I guess it hurts. There’s no bleeding, though.’. They always seemed so surprised that she would even notice that, let alone be asking about it. As if it wasn’t as much a part of life as finding them in the first place. Doesn’t that make you less prepared to deal with it?

She still wondered about it as an adult, until her brother died. At the funeral, his wife looked disconnected from everything and everyone. Her hand kept running over the scar in her wrist, that now replaced the line of zeroes. Peggy didn’t have any questions about that, she tried to never think of that again. She decided it was time to go for some starts instead of imagining endings. The rest was history. World War II, more precisely. She was already in it, of course, but it was time to get real. Michael was right. Neither of the halves of her soul were with Fred Wells and, more important, her potential was away beyond what that position allowed her.

The numbers in her arm were now ironically small and soon, at Project Rebirth, she found in Steve Rogers not only the best candidate for the procedure, but also her soulmate. They went through quite a lot together, but it wasn’t anywhere near enough. She was proud of every moment shared with the Captain, proud of his bravery and of her own as well. She was very, very proud of him at the end. As she heard his last words, Peggy couldn’t bring herself to look away of her wrist, taking comfort from it at first. A bunch of zeroes still marked her skin, so that meant he was okay. Maybe not okay, but still there. She even let herself pretend it meant he would find his way back to her. After all, he still owed her a dance. But a few minutes later it happened. Something ripped the numbers, like from inside out, and there was a new wound in her arm. It did bleed a little, but the pain from that was nothing compared to the feeling that that very sight gave her. 

Still, even then, she knew she would heal. This was war, soldiers went down. Being used to it doesn’t make the facts hurt any less, but she was a soldier as well. Agent Carter could not stop fighting. It would be betrayal to Michael, to Steve, to her friends, to herself. So she kept going even when there was no war, because the world was never lacking battles and she would always be needed. She met Angie and Daniel, each at their own time. She loved them, they loved her. You can give someone a bit of your soul even when they are not predestined to it. Steve’s absence was never unnoted by her, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t have happiness. That would be unfair to them both. She had her friends, her family, her work, her whole life, and a lot of people to miss through the years. Peggy was more than familiar with that, the memories of everything she ever left, everything that left her, along with the joy of knowing she had it all, she lived through it, she left a legacy. And she was not done. Carter was fine with aging, she saw strength in it. Her body was not the same and her mind was a bit tired, but she was still ready for action, no rest planned just yet. 

Well, she thought everything was fine, until she saw it. A bunch of numbers, running down again, where for decades there was nothing but old, ripped skin. A couple years, it looked like. There was no explanation for that. Her Steve was a hero, a legend, but he was also dead. And there was no way she could have another soulmate, meeting Rogers was enough to understand why that sort of connection can’t happen twice. Or did that mean she was dying, too? If so, why would the counting have started just now, and why would that only happen to her? 

Nothing made any sense to her about it, and she ignored the numbers until someone knocked at her door, in the day her wrist indicated as the last. Honestly, how irresponsible of him to just show up! That could have so easily resulted in a heart attack, than it would be his arm that would get a new scar. She gasped and hugged him and cried and brought him inside. For about half an hour, she didn’t even question it, or cared if she was hallucinating and maybe too old for him to ever recognize her. This felt real, this felt like actual Steve Rogers was sitting in her couch, holding her hand. After the initial awe passed, she began asking him about it, and he told her everything. He wanted to know about her life, and it was her time to talk. 

When they both had their answers, she told him to wait a little, as she set the music. Finally, oh, finally, they made the carpet their stage and they danced like they belonged right there, at each other’s arms. Because, of course, they did. Around the third song, out of nowhere, she sighed. 

“You are here to fight some more, aren’t you?” 

It wasn’t really a question. They knew each other well enough to understand they would always be warriors. He just nodded against her hair and held her tight. Peggy would not expect or request anything different from him, so she simply concluded. 

“Okay, but this time I am not losing you. Not again.” 

It sounded like a promise and he knew, she was very determined at keeping them.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m no idea if Michael was ever married, but I gave him a wife here. Also, in this AU Peggy doesn’t have Alzheimer’s disease when Steve comes back, because I would be too heartbroken. Maybe he came back a bit earlier than in canon? I don’t even know. Please let me know of any mistakes, specially with English grammar (this is the first fic I write in English so there’s definitely a lot to improve). The title is from James Arthur's "Say You Won't Let Go". Thanks for reading!


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